God is a personification, not a person an undeniable interpretation, not an otherworldly tyrant. If we fail to grasp this, we cannot possibly understand religion or religious differences.

Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesnt go away. ~ Philip K. Dick

Birth, life, death, the cycles and rhythms of Nature, the elemental forces of the Universe: these are inescapably real. Like it or not, we have always found ourselves in relationship with a Reality we could neither predict nor control. And given the nature of the human brain, there is one thing that people in every culture and throughout history have instinctively done: Weve used metaphors and analogies to refer and relate to that which is unavoidably, undeniably real and/or mysterious. Indeed, it seems that we cantnot do this. Consciously or unconsciously, we regularly interpret our life and our world using relational metaphors.

AsStewart Guthrie shows in his acclaimed book, Faces in the Clouds (Oxford University Press),all images and concepts of God are meaning-rich interpretations and personifications. Images and concepts that evoke trust and the courage to forge ahead no matter what the obstacles are immensely useful.Practical realism in this way trumpsfactual realism if the mindset induced leads to greater evolutionary fitness.

Factual Truth vs. Practical Truth

In his 2003 book, Darwins Cathedral: Evolution, Religion, and the Nature of Society,David Sloan Wilson (Distinguished Professor of Biology and Anthropology at Binghamton University) draws a crucial distinction between practical realism and factual realism. Practical realism, also known as practical truth, is that which reliably produces personal wholeness and social coherence by motivating people to think and behave in ways that benefit themselves and the larger community. Factual realism (factual truth) is that which is evidentially real. Wilson writes,

What do I mean by factual and practical realism? A belief is factually realistic when it accurately describes whats really out there (e.g., there are no people up there sitting on clouds). A belief is practically realistic when it causes the believer to behave adaptively in the real world.

An example of why practical realism historically has trumped factual realism is this: In group-to-group conflicts, any culture that offers the promise of an afterlife to those who heroically martyr themselves will likely triumph over an army of atheists who have the rational belief that death marks the absolute end of individual existence. Over the eons of human evolution, such selective processes would tend to favor the maintenance of beliefs in that which was felt experientially as real, whether or not those beliefs had any basis in measurable, factual reality. David Sloan Wilson also writes,

If there is a trade-off between the two forms of realism, such that our beliefs can become more adaptive only by becoming factually less true, then factual realism will be the loser every time. Factual realists detached from practical reality were not among our ancestors. It is the person who elevates factual truth above practical truth who must be accused of mental weakness from an evolutionary perspective.

Religion Is About Right Relationship to Reality, Not the Supernatural

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Posted by Harriet Hall on July 3, 2012 ( Comments)

3 years ago I wrote an article critical of evolutionary medicine as it was presented in a new book. Recently a correspondent asked me if I thought another book, Why We Get Sick: The New Science of Darwinian Medicine, by Randolph M. Nesse, MD and George C. Williams, PhD, was a more reasonable approach to the subject. It was published in 1994 and got good reviews from respected scientists like Richard Dawkins (Buy two copies and give one to your doctor.) and E.O. Wilson (bringing the evolutionary vision systematically into one of the last unconquered provinces). I was able to obtain a copy through interlibrary loan.

The book was interesting and gave me some things to think about, but it didnt convince me that Darwinian medicine is a new science, that its existence as a separate discipline is justified, or that its unique approach offers any real practical benefits for improving medical care.

Why do we get sick? A simplistic view of evolution holds that it systematically eliminates any factors that decrease fitness for survival. So why does disease persist? Why didnt we evolve to be fit enough to never get sick? Because evolution is not a straightforward process.

Evolution is complicated.There are countless design flaws in the human body. For instance, we are subject to choking because of the crossed anatomy of our respiratory and digestive systems. Nesse and Williams point out that it would be more sensible to relocate the nostrils to somewhere on the neck, but that just aint gonna happen. Evolution is limited by pre-existing patterns and has to make compromises. Historical accidents result in developments that are far from optimum. A useless or even a harmful gene may be perpetuated because it is linked with a beneficial gene. We are in an arms race with pathogens: we evolve defenses and they evolve ways to overcome those defenses. Natural selection made us fit as small groups of hunter-gatherers on the plains of Africa. We are specifically adapted to Stone Age conditions. We face very different environments today where our evolved traits can be counterproductive.

Who are the fittest? Fitness doesnt mean fitness for the individuals welfare, but fitness for propagating the individuals genes. After the individual has reproduced, diseases of old age dont affect evolutionary fitness except in minor, indirect ways. (Grandparents past reproductive age can contribute to the survival of descendants by helping with childcare and providing accumulated knowledge and wisdom.)

Nesse and Williams differentiate between proximate and evolutionary explanations: heart attacks are caused by cholesterol deposits in the arteries, but they want to know why evolution shaped us to deposit cholesterol, crave fat, over-eat, etc. I want to know, too; but Im not so certain that knowing will reduce my chances of a heart attack.

Are evolutionary explanations just pseudoscientific equivalents of Kiplings Just-So Stories? They argue that they are not. They give the example of morning sickness. It has been hypothesized that the nausea, vomiting, and food aversions of early pregnancy are beneficial because they protect the vulnerable fetus from dietary toxins. This would predict that morning sickness preferentially results in avoidance of foods most likely to harm the fetus. This is a testable prediction and there is some evidence to support it; but there is no way to prove that this is the true explanation or the only one. They suggest that suppressing morning sickness might increase the risk of congenital defects. But there is no evidence for that. They recommend that women respect their nausea and remember that it may be beneficial. (It would likely decrease your survival prospects if you said that to your wife while she was throwing up for the umpteenth time!) They admit that relieving suffering is important too, but they recommend that any anti-nausea medicine should be carefully evaluated to make sure it doesnt cause any harm. Of course, we already do that for all medications used during pregnancy. I fail to see how evolutionary thinking adds anything to the care of pregnant women. In fact, I can see how it might result in unnecessary worry and suffering.

They suggest that sexual reproduction is an advantage because the genetic variations increase survival when a population faces an infection. As supporting evidence, they cite studies showing that asexual reproduction is more frequent in species and habitats with fewer parasites. Maybe. Correlation doesnt prove causation.

They speculate that schizophrenia must persist in our genomes because it offers some advantage that balances the severe costs. They even have a creative hypothesis about why we sleep.

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Napoleon Hill

Napoleon Hill tenant son livre Think and Grow Rich!

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Napoleon Hill, n le 26 octobre 1883 et mort le 8 novembre 1970, est un auteur amricain sur le dveloppement personnel. Son uvre la plus clbre est Pensez et devenez riche (connu aussi sous le titre Rflchissez et devenez riche), un des livres qui se sont le mieux vendus[rf.ncessaire]. Dans ses livres, Hill traite du pouvoir des croyances personnelles et du rle qu'elles jouent dans notre succs personnel. Il estimait notamment que : L'homme peut accomplir tout ce que son esprit peut concevoir et croire[1].

Napoleon Hill est n dans une petite cabane en rondins sur la Pound River dans le Comt de Wise (Virginie). l'ge de 10 ans, sa mre meurt et deux ans plus tard, son pre se remarie.[rf.ncessaire]

l'ge de 13 ans, Napoleon Hill commence sa carrire d'crivain comme journaliste dans des petits journaux. En 1908 il est recrut comme rdacteur au Bob Taylor's Magazine, o il doit dcrire le parcours de russite d'hommes clbres. Et le premier qu'il rencontre est le multimillionaire Andrew Carnegie qui deviendra par la suite son mentor[2].

Napoleon Hill dcde le 8 novembre 1970 aprs une longue carrire passe crire, enseigner et donner des confrences sur les principes du succs.

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Dan Harris is the quirky, witty and boyish-looking anchor of the "Good Morning America" weekend edition and co-anchor of "Nightline" on ABC.

In his first book, "10% Happier," he chronicles his rise from local reporter to national news anchor, which was full of anxiety, drug use and competition. His memoir is full of honesty, self-discovery and some advice on meditation, which he believes is one reason why he is currently successful, married and 10 percent happier.

One fateful morning in June 2004, Harris had a televised panic attack on a weekday edition of "Good Morning America," while he was reading the news, filling in for his colleague Robin Roberts.

He writes, "Out of nowhere, I felt like I was being stabbed in the brain with raw animal fear. ... My heart started to gallop. My mouth dried up. My palms oozed sweat."

He attempted to finish the news incoherently, trying to get through the six voice-overs he was supposed to do. But he ended early and sent the broadcast back to a surprised Charlie Gibson.

According to Harris, his bosses at GMA were sympathetic, and he read the news again in one hour with no problems. But inside, his nerves were shaking constantly, and he soon went to a psychologist, specializing in panic attacks, who informed him that his recreational use of cocaine messed with his brain and had a hand in causing his panic.

This is how Harris begins his memoir, with a shocking and revealing story of his early days of success at ABC News.

Throughout the beginning of the memoir, he tells stories of working with Peter Jennings, of covering war zones in the Middle East and of meeting Ted Haggard, a televangelist whom Harris was quite fond of. Haggard ended his religious career in shame when it came out that he was dealing drugs and having an affair with a man.

While Harris went on assignments all over the world, met new colleagues such as David Muir and Chris Cuomo and continued to receive promotions with the ABC News family, he struggled with anxiety, negative self-image and a desire to do drugs.

Then he turned to meditation. The second half of his memoir fascinatingly recounts his story of looking for life meaning and self-help through books and public figures, like Eckhart Tolle and Deepak Chopra. One of the most engaging sections of the book is when he gets to interview the Dalai Lama, and they discuss how even this important religious figure loses his temper.

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